See You In Your Dreams
by Ashita polar
Summary: When Tess starts losing sleep due to haunting, horrific dreams that manifest in real life, she, Alex, Liz and Michael work frantically to solve the mystery. Be forewarned, this story is not Max friendly. Fifth wheeler with Polar and In Crowder hints.
1. Night Terrors

**Title:** See You In Your Dreams  
**Disclaimer:** The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, and 20th Century Fox. Lyrics to Haunting Dreams belong to Seven Witches  
**Pairings: **Tess/Alex; Polar hints

**Category:** Horror/Drama  
**Rating: **Mature  
**Summary: **When Tess starts losing sleep due to haunting, horrific dreams that start to manifest in real life, she, Alex, Liz and Michael work frantically to solve the mystery.

**Warning**: For Max fans, this is not a Max friendly fiction and although I don't outright bash Maria, it's not complimentary of her either. I have several other fictions that portray them in a positive light, but this isn't one of them. Enter at your own risk. Also, I am aware that Pearl Harbor actually came out the year after this takes place, but I couldn't help it; I couldn't find anything more suitable from that year and I can so see Maria going on and on about this movie and trying to draw parallels.

* * *

**Night Terrors**

_**Every time I shut my eyes**_  
_**I see that haunting face in my mind**_  
_**Why do you torment my soul**_  
_**See I'm trapped all alone**_

_Bright light flared overhead, blinding her momentarily as she opened dry, gritty cerulean eyes slowly, blinking away the hazy film covering her irises as her head swam dizzily and her stomach tossed sickly, a sour, medicinal taste coating her tongue as she looked around the sterile, white room in confusion. A cold trickle of dread snaked down her spine as almost frigid, antiseptic air flowed over her skin, gooseflesh dancing down her exposed arms and she shuddered as icy metal pressed into her back, stealing what little heat was left in her body._

_Where the hell was she?_

_Carefully moving her head, she studied the unadorned, bright walls as her heart sped up in tempo, beating frantically against her chest as her head cleared, a chilling realization chased over her senses as she recognized the room from a flash she'd gotten off Max after they rescued him. The white room. Oh dear God, had they been captured?_

_Panic sluiced through her body, running through her veins in icy rivulets as she flinched violently, trying to jerk upright, only to be slammed right back down onto the cold, hard gurney by the leather restraints encircling each wrist, pain radiating through her head, neck and back as they slammed against the metal. Gritting her teeth at the throbbing in her head, she drew several rasping breaths as she frantically tried to recall what she'd done last and wondered how she'd ended up here._

_Last thing she remembered was sliding into her own bed at home, exhausted and aching from another day of training with Michael, her head throbbing from his continual biting commentary, and wishing desperately she had just stayed the hell away from Roswell. Who needed a destiny when all she got was mocked and ridiculed at every turn for simply informing the others of their past lives? Now those thoughts made her stomach jump and curl in dread as she recalled the camera that had been planted in Michael's apartment at one time. What if there had been more than one?_

_Fear shot over her nerves and her struggles increased as she tugged at the binds frenetically, her heart palpitating as a door opened with a quiet hiss, voices murmuring just out of earshot before the they quieted and the door shut with a menacing click, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. She wasn't alone. Swallowing harshly, her muscles coiled as shuffling steps crossed the room swiftly, bringing with them the faint whisper of fabric brushing together with every movement._

_Holding her breath, she craned her head as a lab-coat figure stopped near a small metal tray, fiddling with what looked like several long, thin instruments, methodically arranging them as he blatantly ignored her, sending her heart hammering and terror skittered over her nerves. Breath expelling harshly, her eyes widened and she clutched at the rails as the man slowly turned with a smirk, amber eyes glowing at her mockingly as he lifted a syringe, pumping it slightly as he snickered at her stunned disbelief._

"_What's the matter, Tess? Destiny not shaping up like you expected?" Max asked conversationally, leaning one hip against the bed, his face drawn in a feigned pout, before his lips quirked sardonically. "Just had to come and stir up problems. Plant images in our heads; drive a wedge in between the group so that no one is talking to anyone. Happy? My family is falling apart and all you can do is babble about destiny."_

"_Max?" she whispered, confusion marring her face, her brow furrowing as she stared around the room and began noting that there were subtle differences in the room this time, the lines of it blurred as if someone were looking at it through a haze. Turning back to the other boy, her breath caught and she flinched as he leaned over, his lip curling._

"_Do you know, that when I was in here, I made myself a promise that I wouldn't let anyone hurt my family and those I love, and that I'd protect them no matter what," he continued, his face twisting with an angry sneer as he flicked his eyes over her with disgust, mirroring his expression when he nearly strangled her for exposing herself as an alien. Breath stalling in her lungs, she watched wide-eyed as he tested the syringe once more. "And I've decided that you're a threat who needs to be eliminated. I'm sure no one will miss you. After all, they never wanted you here in the first place."_

"_Max? Are you insane?" she cried, fear zinging through her bloodstream hotly as tears prickled her eyes and she began to struggle once more, trying to scramble from his slow, taunting advance. Shaking her head in horror, all the color drained from her cheeks as he grabbed her arm, holding it still as she frantically tried reason with him. "Max…you can't…I don't…."_

_"Shhhhh. Do you hear that?" he asked softly, pressing his finger to her lips, smirking as they trembled slightly and she cringed further, her eyes clenching shut and she shook her head with resignation, wondering where he was going with this comment or if it he was merely listening to the voices in his head once again. "Oh, that's right, you wouldn't as it's just the two of us, just as you've always wanted. A shame. No one to hear you scream."_

_Eyes popping open at his silkily tossed words, she whimpered in the back of her throat as his grip tightened on her arm painfully, leaving behind bluish-purple bruises and cried out when the syringe plunged into her arm, releasing a burning rush of liquid into her arm as he laughed mockingly, her head swimming dizzily and sight growing hazy, Max's words echoing in her ears. "Goodbye, Tess..."_

Crying out, pain still lashing through her arm, Tess shot straight up out of bed, blond curls pasted to her sweat-drenched brow, her heart pounding erratically against her breast bone and her blood rushing through her veins at an almost dangerous level. Drawing in a sharp breath, she clutched frantically at her arm, cringing when it throbbed and switched on her bedside lamp, her eyes widening with horror as she made out the faint outline of a hand-shaped bruise, quickly fading as reality set in and her instinctive healing abilities kicked in.

Scrambling out of her bed, she scanned her room frantically, terror and anguish still coursing through her veins as Max's parting words circled in her head on an endless loop, her body trembling as the cool air whispered over damp skin. Panting in sharp, shallow breaths, she wrapped her arms around her stomach, cinching them tightly and shuddered, swaying dizzily in the pale morning light, the sun not even showing on the horizon. Glancing at her clock, she ran a shaky hand through her hair as the red numbers glared right back, almost admonishing her for being awake.

As if she had a choice after such evil dreams.

Walking back to her bed, she sank onto the mattress numbly and drew her knees to her chest as she stared around the room blankly, her eyes already drooping with exhaustion despite the adrenaline still flowing through her veins. This had been the third night in a row that she'd been subjected to nightmares, although they had been happening with an abnormal frequency since the end of summer, and she honestly didn't know how much more she could tolerate as they were growing much more violent and disturbing.

Scrubbing at her arm, the phantom feel of bruises still aching even though they had faded into oblivion almost as soon as she's awoke, she shuddered once more, frightened to her core as she'd never had the dreams spill over into real life before. And the fact that they had this time terrified her, as she wasn't sure what it meant, and more, how else those dreams could affect her in reality. This was getting out of hand. She needed to do something about it, but she had no idea what or who she could trust at this point in time.

Resting her cheek against her knees she stared out her window, her muscles loosing slightly as the wild beating of her heart slowed to a normal pace, but she was still coiled tightly, ready to spring at a moment's notice if necessary, unable to let go of Max's haunting words and smug face. The dreams reminded her all too much of the visions she and the other's started getting when she arrived in town, that is, they had that feeling of manipulation, as if they were being purposefully sent to her, but unlike the destiny dreams, these were malevolent in nature.

At first she'd just thought they were a product of her own fears and insecurities, since they often told her that she didn't belong, that she wasn't wanted, which was the feeling she had gotten from the entire group when she joined them and she often felt alien among her own kind. But now, with the way the dreams were now manifesting in reality, leaving her marked, she had to wonder if there was more behind it, if there was some enemy, or worse, someone she knew crawling into her head every night and terrorizing her.

Running a hand over her head wearily, she sat there limply for she didn't know how long staring at the tree in her yard listlessly, mulling that thought around in her head, but when she finally shook her head, trying to brush off the fatigue sucking at her limbs, she noticed that the sky had lightened considerably and she had to get ready for class. Staggering off her bed, she trudged over to her dresser, pulling out clothing sluggishly, dreading the coming day of acting like nothing was wrong and pretending that her nerves weren't ready to break.

She would have given anything to crawl back into bed and bury herself under the thick comforter, seeking the sleep that she had been lacking for the past month, but she couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't be assaulted more vicious, terrifying images and she'd had enough for one night. Shuffling to her bathroom, she turned the shower all the way on cold, hoping that the chilling water would perk her up enough to make it through the day without falling victim to the pull of sleep and dreams she wasn't sure she wanted.

~...~

Pressing her forehead to the cool metal locker, she sighed in relief that she had made it through yet another day despite her dulled, leaden senses and the deep need for sleep. She even managed to fool most people into believing that she was her normal, unflappable self at lunch, only Max and Alex watching her carefully, as if they sensed something more. She had done her best to smile and contribute to the conversation as much as possible, but she lacked the energy to focus and often fell into silence for long periods of time.

In fact, she had almost nodded off at one point, Maria's droning voice lulling her into a trance as she stared at her lunch, picking at the sandwich and fruit without much interest, her chin cupped in her hand as her lashes fluttered closed, the only thing snapping her to wakefulness had been Michael's exasperated comments and the other's laughter.

_Tess covered her mouth, desperately quelling a yawn as she sat at the picnic table, listlessly listening to Maria's prattling retelling of Pearl Harbor, which she had recently seen for the third time, and barely held back a snort at Michael's exasperated moue as it was obvious the girl was trying to compare him to the main character. Rolling his eyes, he slunk against a post, ignoring the other blonde's none-to-subtle hopeful looks as he crammed a burger in his mouth, sharing a commiserating smile with Liz._

_Flicking a tired glance over the table, she squirmed as she caught Alex's concerned blue eyes studying her quietly, a small frown on his face before he gave her a small smile, making her cheeks heat slightly, her lips quirking in spite of themselves and she looked away nervously. Catching Max's eye next, she shuddered at his intent, speculative stare and fidgeted, a trickle of unease dancing down her spine as she recalled those eyes watching her so coldly in her dream._

_Tearing her eyes away, she took a shaky breath and tried to focus on Maria's rambling narrative once more, the cadence of her words washing over her in an almost soothing way, lulling her into a trance-like state and she closed her eyes for the briefest moment, thinking to gather her energy. She really needed to get some sleep. Maybe this afternoon, she'd lie down and try to catch a catnap, keeping it short to avoid the deeper sleep and the jarring images her dreams brought._

_"So then he was shot down and they thought he'd been killed in battle, but really he survived and was in occupied France the entire time and he couldn't get in touch with her, but he thought of her the entire time and it was her face that brought him through such a terrifying time until they could be reunited in love…" Maria gushed, her eyes flicking over to Michael, frowning when he only cocked a disinterested brow as she continued to babble. "I mean, she was with the other guy only because she thought he died and stayed with him because of the baby, but he was her true love and when they had the chance to be together, they…"_

"_Is there a point to this story?" Michael groused, finally tired of hearing about Ben Affleck and his wonderful portrayal of a soldier whose great love for his girlfriend got him through the war. Like he couldn't see where this conversation was headed, and he was determined to nip it in the bud right then and there. He had no intention of allowing Maria to romanticize their former relationship because some cheesy chick flick said it was possible, conveniently forgetting all the problems they'd had that didn't revolve around his supposed destiny._

"_Yes, Michael, there is! It's about love! True love!" Maria snapped, a petulant pout twisting her mouth, her screech yanking Tess out of her reverie and she focused blurrily on the squabbling girl before turning her eyes to her brother, seeing the all too familiar irritation flaring in his eyes as the blond continued to squawk. "When people are in love they go to great lengths for each other and…"_

"_Maria!" Liz cut off, pressing her thumbs to her eyes wearily, rubbing her eyes as if staving off a headache and sighing as she fixed her best friend with a tight smile. Tess studied her carefully, surprised to see the shadows under her eyes and the same tight lines she'd seen in her own face this morning and wondered what could possibly be making her lose sleep since she seemed to have everything going for her. Studying Liz carefully, she startled when the girl bit out impatiently. "This is not the place!"_

"_Fine," the blond spat, gathering up her books and lunch, scrambling out of the table as she threw Liz a hurt look, her shoulders stiffening as she bustled away, muttering under her breath about how she should be able to count on people to back her up. Turning her head back to the group, Tess met Max's eyes once more, shivering when she caught the hint of hate in his eyes before he too got up, chasing after Maria silently._

_Watching the other boy until she couldn't see him any longer, she shifted uncomfortably and then turned back to the group, smiling when she saw Liz and Michael talking quietly amongst themselves and Kyle teasing Isabel, while she looked down her nose at him haughtily, the twinkle in her eye belying any true annoyance. At least some of them were enjoying their lunch. Drawing a shaky breath, she rubbed her eyes wearily and glanced over at Alex, catching him staring once more and blushed, chewing on her lip nervously as she wondered what was going on in his head._

Shaking her head softly, she pulled back from the cold metal and slowly entered her locker combination, concentrating her sluggish mind on the numbers as her energy continued to wane. Opening door, she slid in the unnecessary books onto the shelf and grabbed the ones she was going to need for the night. Thank God tomorrow was Friday and she would then have a weekend to hopefully recover and get some sleep. Maybe.

If the dreams stayed away just one night.

That was all she was asking for; just one night of uninterrupted sleep to take the edge off of this fog that has enveloped her over the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately, she didn't think she was going to get that lucky as the dreams had been picking up steam since last week, coming on an almost nightly basis and the desperate edge to them deepened, growing harsher and more malicious with each occurrence. It was almost as if someone was trying to drive her away or otherwise drive her into insanity.

And that just made her more determined to dig her heels in and stay right where she was, if for not other reason than to piss off whoever was trying to get her to break. This person may know her well enough to prey on her insecurities and deepest fears, but it was obvious their knowledge of her was superficial at best. Her life with Nasedo had been far from a picnic and the mental abuse she suffered his hands made this assailant's attempts nothing more than child's play. He or she didn't know whom they were messing with if they thought a few bad dreams were going to make her break.

In fact, if it hadn't been for her terror over the real life bruises that had marred her skin this morning, making her wonder if someone had been in her room actually physically assaulting her, they wouldn't succeeded in anything more than pissing her off. But the implication of those bruises and her empty room chilled her to the bone. There was only one person she recalled having that ability and she wasn't ready to accept that he was the one behind the attacks despite his obvious dislike of her.

Rubbing her forearm absently, she stared blindly down the hall as she mulled the dream over in her mind, wondering if maybe she should be looking in that direction, when a hand clamped on her shoulder, eliciting a startled cry from the back of her throat. Heart hammering, she whipped wide, frightened eyes around, her body trembling slightly and sighed with relief when surprised, concerned blue eyes peered down on her, a confused smile touching one corner of his mouth.

"Alex," she breathed, raising a shaky hand to her throat and forcing a smile as she tried to slow the frantic fluttering of her heart, running a hand through her hair nervously as she drew a deep, steadying breath and licked her lips. Fidgeting nervously, she looked around curiously, wondering what had possessed the quiet boy to come up to her, since they barely talked outside of the group. "Sorry, I was deep in thought and didn't hear you approach."

"Hey," Alex replied, rubbing her shoulder absently and shifting just the slightest with discomfit, a little uncertain if the girl before him would welcome his presence. He'd surreptitiously watched her at lunch, trying to hide her obvious exhaustion and tension from the group, and would have succeeded if it weren't for the fact that he'd had a lot of practice observing female behaviors because of Maria and Liz. His best friends had been fantastic training grounds when it came to understanding the female persuasion. Well, as much as a man could understand the fairer sex, which was barely enough to keep himself out of the fire unlike his other less fortunate brethren. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, ummm…okay," Tess shrugged, looking at the taller boy strangely, a little surprised, but pleased that he'd come up to her, her breath stuttering at the odd little flutter in her stomach when he caressed her shoulder softly. Biting her lip, she looked up and flushed, her stomach doing that little quavering jump once more when deep, kind blue eyes slid over her warmly, his smile doing things she never expected to feel for anyone other than Max. "Yourself?"

"Good, good," he replied, dropping his hand hastily as he realized he was still rubbing her arm absently, his heart leaping just a tad as he caught the faintest flash of disappointment in her eyes as he pulled away. Smiling slightly, he met curiously sober eyes for a long moment before he dropped his gaze and rubbed his hand over the back of neck, his stomach clenching now that it came to the reason for him coming up to her.

"Um, so, I was wondering if you…would, I don't know…like to go to the Crash for a drink with me today…" he asked hesitantly, swallowing harshly as surprised, slightly suspicious eyes met his when he raised his eyes and he quickly amended his invitation to leave it more open-ended. "Or if today doesn't work, another day?"

"Why?" she asked suspiciously, her brow furrowing with confusion as she stared at the tall boy who seemed to avoid her at all costs unless he couldn't help it due to a group meeting or activity. But then again, that was hardly odd considering the fact that most of the group avoided her outside of Michael and even he only sought her out because of the information she had regarding their past lives.

Alex sighed, studying the girl before him quietly, his heart pinching at the wariness and slight pain that briefly shined through her hard gaze, making him realize how much the groups distancing themselves from her when they found out her true identity must have hurt. Without thinking, he reached over and brushed a strand of hair away for her cheek, marveling at the softness, missing her slightly startled, yet pleased gleam as he stroked the curve gently.

He'd had a crush on the girl almost from the instant they met, having seen the hints of vulnerability she tried to hide, but had avoided her because he and Isabel were still doing some kind of dance and he didn't want to hurt either girl. But when Isabel had shunted him aside this summer, he had decided he'd had enough with the beautiful alien's hot and cold reactions and decided to see if just maybe another beautiful alien might just see him differently. And just maybe he could get her to talk about what was bothering her.

"I'd just…I'd really like the chance to get to know you," he replied sincerely, shrugging his shoulders slightly as he met stunned blue eyes before they danced away, the faint flush touch her cheeks encouraging him and he took a deep breath before continuing. "I really do. I know we haven't really been that inviting, and I'm sorry for my part. I can't excuse my behavior, but I hope that you'll take this as my apology and give me the chance to make it up to you."

"Okay," she replied shyly, her cheeks heating as she watched him from beneath her lashes, a small smile quirking her lips when his face lit up and she bit back a giggle, turning away to grab the last of her books, her mind reeling at this development. Drawing a deep breath, she shut her locker and spun around, smiling at Alex brightly, gesturing to the school doors. "So, shall we?"

"After you, my lady," he quipped lightly, dipping into a gallant bow and grinning when she did giggle that time, her hand flying to her mouth as if startled at the sound and he offered her his arm, his heart jumping happily when she tucked her finger into the crook as they walked outside and headed to his car.

~...~

Alex smiled down on the pretty blond at his side, chuckling at a dry quip she'd made about the exterior of the Crashdown. He could see her point; he imagined that all of the alien-themed businesses and tourist traps must seem odd to someone who held an out of this world citizenship. Opening the door, he stood back, allowing her to pass into the diner before him and came to a standstill at her side, his smile fading as Maria dropped a plate and stared at the two of them in disbelief, making Tess tense and fidget uncomfortably, looking as if she were ready to bolt.

Frowning at his friend, he raised his brow, breaking her stunned reverie and Maria had the grace to flush at her less than subtle reaction and hastily bent to pick up the pieces of broken plate, scurrying into the back to grab a broom and dustpan, muttering under her breath. Tipping his head to the petite blond at his side, he took her hand and squeezed it, dragging her uncertain gaze from the swinging door and smiled, eliciting a shaky one from her in return as he led her to an unoccupied booth in the back.

Lifting his head, his brow creased as he caught Max watching Tess with displeasure, a hint of anger and something he couldn't quite place in his eyes, but made him shudder all the same. Placing a hand on the little blonde's back, he maneuvered it so that he was standing between her and the dark-haired boy and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders as he caught burning golden eyes, cocking a challenging brow. Max flushed deeply and looked away hastily, focusing on Isabel's gaping mouth and confused dismay, his lips compressing further as he flashed Tess a hateful look out of the corner of his eye.

Compressing his own lips, Alex ushered Tess past the two, blatantly ignoring the frown on Isabel's face as they walked past and settled into the booth farthest from the two other aliens and looked around. He didn't feel the least bit sorry or guilty for walking in with Tess despite the flash of hurt in Isabel's eyes as he was sure it was only due to the fact that he wasn't mooning over her anymore. She had been the one that stepped away and the one who stopped talking to him this summer, so she had no one but herself to blame.

Glancing across the restaurant, he barely caught a glimpse of Michael leaning out of the window, speaking softly to a surprised Liz, cocking a contemplative brow before shrugging and quipping something to Liz lightly, drawing a reluctant smile out of the brunette. Cocking his own brow, he had to wonder what was going on with the two of them as Liz walked towards his and Tess's table and turned back to his menu, sharing a quiet look with the blond, noticing she had been watching the exchange with equal interest.

"Hey guys," Liz piped up, her brows rising with interest as she saw the looks exchanged between her best friend and the other girl, a smile twitching her lips as Tess looked up guiltily and put her on her best blank expression, ignoring Maria's curious glance as she walked past. "What can I get for you? The usual Alex?"

"Yeah, I'll take my usual," he replied, smiling in relief when she acted as if there was nothing amiss with him being here with Tess opposed to Isabel. That was one of the things he loved most about his girl, she knew when to let things be and when to pry. And he could tell by the speculative gleam in her eye, he would be getting a call later tonight. Turning back to Tess, he smiled and waited for her to give her order, his gaze flicking over her quietly, his smile growing as he noticed the pink in her cheeks deepening.

"It'll be right up," Liz said, nodding to the two of them as she caught Tess's eyes, a friendly smile flashing across her face as she left, Tess unable to help the surprise that flashed over her own face at the friendly overture before recalling that Liz had tried to be her friend when she first arrived, but she had been the one to push her away. Flicking her eyes to the table, she chewed on her bottom lip and wondered at how things could have been if she had given the other girl a chance.

"Everything okay?" Alex asked, his eyes sliding over the quiet, exhausted girl as she lost herself in thought as she had been doing for the past few days, wincing when she jumped at his voice. Furrowing his brow, he was determined to get to the bottom of her behavior, even if nothing more than friendship came of their association. She looked like she was standing precariously on the edge and he was worried about what might happen if something didn't change soon. "You've been awful quiet lately."

"What?" Tess asked, her head snapping up in surprise at his words, stunned that he had noticed her enough to know that she'd been acting unusually, and also worried because it made her realize just how much of her mask had fallen. She had to figure out who was doing this to her before she fell apart completely.

"You've been quiet, and exhausted," he pointed out, concern filling his gaze once more as he unconsciously reached over and took her hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb over the back, thrilled that she didn't pull away immediately. Watching as she shrugged and bit her lip, looking like she wanted to confide but held off out of fear.

"I've just…had some trouble sleeping is all," she explained weakly, nibbling on her bottom lip, her eyes clouding over with uncertainty as he watched her closely and her stomach sank slightly as he nodded, pulling away to allow Liz to set their food on the table. She wanted to tell him, really she did, but until she had a better grasp on what might be causing the dreams, she didn't want to say too much. Smiling at Liz as she turned away, she reached out and covered his hand with hers, waiting until he looked over. "I've just been having some bad dreams."

"Well if you ever need to, or want to talk," he replied with a smile, squeezing her hand back gently, sending those little flutters zinging through her heart and stomach once more and she couldn't help but grin back, her eyes prickling just a touch with happiness before she looked away shyly, his last words washing over her like a balm. "I'm here."


	2. Daymares

**Daymares**

_**Shifting dreams that hypnotize**_  
_**Despairing glances from his eyes**_  
_**Spins the present to the past**_  
_**Feeling every breath will be my last**_

_She sighed happily, leaning back on her hands as she stared at the star-laced sky, the woods creaking behind her as a light breeze stirred the branches, sending her own hair subtly swaying around her shoulders, a tiny shiver dancing down her spine as the cool air whispered over her neck. A warm arm snaked around her back, pulling her into an equally warm side and she smiled as she turned her gaze from the stars to bright, blue eyes, looking away shyly when Alex's lips curled into a slow, sweet smile in response._

"_Enjoying the show?" he whispered, nodding to the streaming stars above them, his eyes sparkling as he noted the delicate flush staining her cheeks and his smile widening a notch as she nodded, a quiet light filling her eyes as she met his gaze once more. "Good, I heard that Frazier Woods would be the best place to see the meteor shower and I thought you might enjoy it. Did you make a wish?"_

"_Maybe," she whispered coyly, looking at him from beneath her lashes, the color on her cheeks deepening, pleasure rushing over her when he flicked an appreciative gaze over her and her stomach fluttered, as if a hundred tiny butterflies were caught inside._

"_You gonna tell me?" he teased, nudging her slightly as he leaned down, dipping his head until their faces were only inches apart, upping the intimate air around them, her heart picking up in tempo as their bodies pressed closer to one another, his body heat all but melting her into a little puddle at his side._

"_Now, if I tell you," she giggled softly, nibbling on her lips as she met his amused glance and leaned in unconsciously, turning her body into his and tipping her head back further so that his lips were hovering over her enticingly. Flicking her eyes down, her gaze latched onto the soft, parted flesh and licked her own, wondering what they'd taste like. "It won't come true."_

"_Well then, I'll just have to guess," he murmured, raising a hand as his head dipped further and he ran his fingers over her cheek softly before cupping her jaw, capturing her lips for a slow, sweet kiss that had her blood zinging through body like an electric current. Sighing she pressed into his mouth, seeking that elusive taste of berries and something she couldn't put her finger on, something uniquely Alex._

_Pulling away with a dreamy tilt to her lips, she hung there for a moment, enjoying the warm wash of emotion that never came when she kissed Max and sighed happily, her eyes fluttering open as she sank into that blissful pool, only to have her heart jump in terror and her blood ice over as she stared into malicious amber eyes._

"_I know I'm going to enjoy the show," he smirked derisively, flicking a contemptuous, hateful glance over her, laughing as she scuttled back, her eyes widening with horror as she scrubbed at her mouth and cowered away from the leering, all-too-smug boy. "Should I feel insulted that you're not enamored with my kisses?"_

"_Wha…what are you doing here, Max?" she stammered, wincing internally at how wavering and hesitant her tone sounded as she looked around the forest frantically, heart hammering against her breast bone as scanned the area for Alex and gasped when Max stood, hulking over her menacingly as she scrambled to her feet, backing slowly away._

"_You didn't honestly think you could escape me did you _my queen_?" he sneered, a mocking lilt tingeing his last words as he stalked her, cracking his knuckles audibly as he clenched them into fists, a malevolent glower etched into his face as he continued silkily "After all, I'm your destiny, right? How quickly you forget me when someone actually pays a little attention to you."_

"_Leave me alone, Max," she grated, her breath coming in short, raspy pants and back stiffening defensively despite the trickle of uncertainty coursing over her body, his words cutting into her hard won confidence. Tossing her head defiantly, she fought back another tremble as she shifted her body, prepared to flee if he gave her reason, tossing out contemptuously. "You can take destiny and shove it up your ass."_

"_No, I don't think so," he chuckled, heartily amused by her little display of temper, a mocking grin flashing over his face as he lashed out with his hand, cuffing her across the cheek violently. The blow cracked through the night are like a gunshot, the force of it rocking her head to the side and she crumpled to the ground, her ears ringing as stars burst across her vision, him looming over her threateningly as he continued conversationally. "You know, I could kill you here and no one would know the difference."_

_Staring at Max incredulously, she cupped her cheek, a bruise blooming over the pale skin, turning it a mottled bluish-purple, a trill of fear skittering over her nerves at the slightly maniacal gleam shining in cold amber eyes and she rolled over hastily, scrambling to her feet into a full out run. Diving into the trees, she cried out when the branches lashed at her arms, deep scratches embedding in her arms, blood welling in them as she careened through the brush, heart nearly leaping out of her chest when she heard the telltale crunch of rocks and cracking of twigs under her pursuer's feet._

~...~

Sighing heavily, Alex came back from the stacks from where he had been talking to Liz about the upcoming English project that had their entire class in the library for a research day. Well that and trying to get her to talk. She was hiding something from him, he could tell; she was pulling the same mysterious 'nothing is happening' act as she did when she was first healed and he wasn't buying it. Especially when he threw in the fact that she and Michael went from barely spending time together to suddenly in each other's sphere almost every day; but she was stubbornly holding off.

Stubborn woman, why did it seem his life was filled with them? Liz, Maria, Isabel were all far too stubborn for their own good and now he could add a far too cute blond that had been preying on his mind all night.

Flicking a cursory glance over a bored and distracted looking Max, he homed in on the pretty blond in question and frowned when he saw she had her head propped on her arms, light blond lashes fanning over slightly flushed cheeks, her body twitching in her sleep. Coming up behind her quietly, so as not to startle her, he flicked a warm gaze of her, his lips quirking as he remembered their sort of date last night and how much she'd laughed and opened up once he had gotten past that cool, collected barrier.

Running a hand over her hair, his frown deepened and he inhaled sharply as she flinched, giving a tiny whimper as a bright purplish bruise bloomed over her cheek. Stroking her cheek lightly, he pulled back when she cringed and let a out a terrified noise in the back of her throat and his heart jumped into his throat, cold sweat breaking over his forehead as a chill snaked it's way down his spine as bright red slashes tore across her arms, immediately seeping a slow trickle of blood. What the hell?

Eyes widening with alarm as more appeared across her bruised cheek, he wrapped his hand around her shoulder and shook her anxiously, jumping back when her head flew up and her arm flew out, almost catching him in the chest as a terrified cry spilled over her lips. Panting, his eyes clashed with wild, hunted cerulean irises, wet with unshed tears and he compressed his lips, more determined than ever to get to the bottom of things.

Looking around the room surreptitiously, he noticed the curious eyes of their classmates on them, and not wanting them to see the fresh injuries, slowly fading as she came too, but still far too prominent not to be questioned since she hadn't had them when she came to class, he wrapped his hand around her wrist and dragged her deeper into the library. Bowing her head, she tugged at her wrist impatiently but he kept a firm grip on her as they barreled through the stacks and into a secluded study area, where he closed the door with a decisive snick.

Staring at the petite blond in befuddlement, he opened and closed his mouth several times as he tried to formulate his thoughts on what he'd seen, and pressed his lips together when they refused to comply, his eyes growing fiercely determined when she turned her face away, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. Even by alien standards this was weird. Shaking his head, he ran his hands through his hair and began to pace, his mind whirling a hundred miles a minute before he stopped in front of her once more, pinning her with a grim smile.

"You wanna tell me why you're falling asleep in class now?" he asked in a quiet, steely tone as he stared at Tess, his heart still thrumming at something that should not even be humanly possible and reminded him of something out of a cheesy horror flick. Then again, that might very well be the problem, it wasn't humanly possible, which meant some aliens had some serious explaining to do if that were the case. Crossing his arms over his chest, he fixed her with an unyielding grimace, dismay bubbling in his stomach when he saw her walls erect in record time, killing the dull, haunted look in her eyes.

"I told you," she lofted nonchalantly, giving an airy shrug over her shoulders her fists clenching in direct contradiction with her casual air as she desperately tried to quell the rapid beating of her heart, the residual acid burn in her coiled muscles and the icy fear that traveled through her veins like a fast acting poison, numbing every cell. Stroking her arms absently, she winced as the scratches stung and she bit her lip nervously, a chilling thought racing through her mind; they should have disappeared by now. He was getting stronger. Running a hand through her hair, she fixed the tall boy with an unconcerned glance, before looking away. "I've just been having trouble sleeping."

"Don't bullshit me with that weak excuse that you're have nightmares," Alex grated, glaring at the tiny girl before him, not about to let her put him off with her blatant hedging and obvious lies, something he'd sworn not to take from the people in his life once Liz told him the truth last year. Shaking his head as her gaze hardened at his words, he strode forward until they were standing inches apart and looked down into her defiantly upturned face with a disapproving moue as he continued in a low, controlled voice. "There has to be more to it that that."

"I can deal with it myself," she spat, her body going rigid with indignation at his continued badgering, her heart and stomach fluttering with unease and something warmer, softer and completely unfamiliar when his eyes lit with a fiercely protective blue flame. It undid her and yet got her back up at the same time, this unexpected possessive, almost boy warrior that emerged from the typically quiet, unassuming guy when he perceived on of his own being threatened.

And the fact that he seemed to care enough to include her in that limited sphere put her at a loss; scared her to death because she'd never had that in her life and she didn't know how to react.

"Really?" he snorted with disbelief, lofting a challenging brow as he stared into her face, reaching out and gesturing to her loose fitting clothing and the marks marring her face as he pointed out. "Because you don't look like you're dealing at all. You don't eat, you have shadows under your eyes and are a zombie half the time. And now, you're falling asleep in class."

Compressing his lips as he met her gaze implacably as he slowly reached over and grabbed her wrist, giving her a chance to move away if necessary, smirking when her eyes crackled defiantly, but allowed him to flip the arm over, revealing shiny, pink, just healed skin in long lines. Tracing them lightly, he swallowed thickly completely out of his depth as he rasped, "Not to mention the scratches suddenly appearing on your arms does _not_ say normal dream."

"I've got it handled," Tess replied in tight, controlled voice, slowly pulling her arm from his grasp and walking away, her instincts crying out to run, to get away, to protect herself at all costs because she'd learned far too long ago that nothing comes for free. So she did the only thing she had learned to buffer herself from the inevitable and shut down, lashing out with a cutting wit. "Besides, what can you do? You're human and this is alien. You couldn't understand where I'm coming from."

"Fine, forget I asked," he replied brusquely, feeling slightly hurt that she'd shut down on him after the night before, but not about to back down fully. If she wouldn't talk to him, he knew someone who would, reluctantly, give him the answers he sought, especially if he played the right cards, sending the other man into protective mode. Spinning on his, he strode to the door, flicking a disappointed smile toward her and said sadly as he left. "I guess the others were right about you."

Tess watched him stalk off, her stomach swirling sickly, dread creeping through her blood that she might have just destroyed a potential friendship and scared away the only person that had made a true overture toward her since she arrived. Groaning, she flopped into one of the chairs lining the wall and dropped her head into her hands, biting her lip as she tried to pull herself together, threads of anguish and terror still rippling through her system. She really needed to think this through and get herself together before she slipped up and really did some harm. Or more harm than she had already caused.

This wasn't the way she saw the day going after the sweet, fun time she had last night with Alex, after thinking she'd be able to open up to the boy despite years of conditioning to not speak her mind or share her secrets. But Nasedo's iron fist and punishments flashed through her mind every time she thought of rebelling; despite the fact that he had been dead for a couple of weeks, it was difficult to break the bonds years of abuse, demeaning words and cruelty that held her prisoner.

He had always told her that he couldn't die, so despite seeing his body laid out cold and lifeless on the floor, and despite the fact they couldn't seem to resurrect him that second time, she still feared that it had been an act. Feared that eventually he'd come back to haunt her, remind her that he had plans that she was expected to fulfill even though they left a bad taste in her mouth. Gritting her teeth, she clenched her fingers, digging them into her skull as she tried to quell the terrifying and violent images in her head, dragging a shuddering breath as she grasped onto the memories of the night before like a lifeline.

"_So, um, thanks for inviting me today," she smiled shyly as she stood on her front porch, thankful for once that she hadn't taken the sheriff up on his offer to live with him being that she wasn't fully convinced Nasedo was truly gone. She would have found it awkward having him or Kyle breathing down her neck, wondering what was happening with Alex when she didn't have that answer herself. But whatever it was, she really liked it. "I had…I had a good time."_

_"Me too," Alex replied, a soft smile tugging his lips as he reached over and much to her amazement and pleasure, tucked a stray blond curl behind her ear gently, making her cheeks suffuse with a delicate spray of pink when he stroked her skin as he pulled away. Licking her lips, she met his eyes and her smile broadened at his slightly absorbed expression as he stared down into her face, sending that excited little tingle skittering over her body once more. "We should do this again."_

"_I'd…um…like that," she whispered, her breath snagging as he moved slightly closer, his body brushing against hers just the slightest and she held her breath, wondering if he was going to lean down and kiss her and whether she wanted him to or not. Nibbling on her lip, she let out a breath when he moved back reluctantly, the faintest trickle of disappointment panging in her heart when he didn't make a move. _

"_So, see you at school?" Alex rasped, flicking a warm glance over her and hesitated, a faint calculating gleam in his eyes as if he were trying to decide whether or not to do the very thing she'd hoped he would, but smiled and nodded a little awkwardly instead, raising his hand in farewell as he turned away. _

"_Yeah…Alex?" she murmured, pausing a beat before calling his name as he started down the stairs, her heart thrumming as he turned around with an inquisitive grin and she held back for just a second to gather her courage before closing the distance between them and throwing her arms around him for a quick hug. Pulling back slightly, she looked into his surprised but pleased eyes and brushed her lips over his cheek, pressing a light kiss to it before she could analyze her actions. "Thanks again."_

_"No, thank you," he murmured, a slightly dazed smile on his lips as she walked into her house, turning and laughing softly, a bright smile pasted on her face as he turned and all but hopped down the stairs to his car, a sliver of hope tugging on her heart._

_~...~  
_

Shaking her head to clear the sweet memory, she slumped further into the chair and stroked the fading bruise on her cheek absently, mulling the night and the subsequent morning/day mare over in her head, a low, determined heat bubbling in her stomach as she steeled her spine. Enough was enough. She couldn't keep cowering and hoping her attacker would get bored or reveal himself – she had to do something fast, before he or she harmed her for good, or worse, killed her.

Alex stormed down the hall, still slightly hurt over Tess's casual brush off this morning and more worried than ever at the fact that two of the girls in their tight little unit seemed to have something going on behind the scenes that they weren't sharing. That couldn't be a coincidence, and the timing as well as the fact that these particular girls were being targeted gave him cause for concern given the way that a certain alien had been acting lately. He didn't trust Max as far as he could throw him these days; he'd been acting off, less focused and definitely more desperate since the white room incident.

Not that he thought everything would, or even _should_, go back to normal, or whatever definition they could have given that four of his friends were former reincarnated alien, hybrid royalty. Yeah, try saying that five times fast. But Max didn't want to talk about nor deal with the events of his abduction and kept trying to reinstate their lives to the time pre-destiny and it just wasn't viable. Too much had happened, too much had been seen and said and they were too broken. There was no going back.

Rumpling his hair, he walked outside agitatedly, not in the mood to deal with his last class of the day while he was so worried, and scanned the school grounds, smirking when his eyes fell onto the man he'd been searching for most of the day, sitting at one of the quad tables with a battered book. Walking towards Michael, he cocked a brow; surprised that he was even there if he wasn't planning to go to class, and couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with a certain brunette he'd been hovering over recently.

"Guerin," Alex greeted quietly, biting back a chuckle when the other boy looked up impatiently, a slight scowl on his face until he saw who was bothering him and his face blanked into its typical stoic expression, the only display of interest an arched brow as he put his book down and sat up. Flicking a glance at the book in question, he wasn't really all that surprised when he saw the title as he'd long suspected that there was far more intelligence behind that bored expression that Michael liked to display, but Ulysses was an interesting choice.

"Whitman," Michael grunted, flicking an assessing glance over Alex as he leaned back against the tree he was perched against and crossed his arms over his chest, raising his brows, a question sharpening his gaze as Alex sat down across from him. Alex bit back a smirk as the other boy sized him up, before shrugging and lofting, "So to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I need to talk to you," Alex replied, his brow furrowing as he rolled the days events around in his mind and tried to pull them together in some sort of order before presenting them to the tall, slightly gruff and laconic alien. Drawing a deep breath, he nodded and looked up into bored brown eyes and figured the best bet with Michael was just to ask straight out rather than beat around the bush.

"So, talk," Michael shrugged, his blunt, no nonsense tone making Alex smile in appreciation after the run around he had gotten all day from the females of both species, which, for all their talk of the necessity for communication, had left him frustrated, irritated and fostering a raging headache. And they say women talked too much. Why couldn't he ever have that problem? It was just his luck that the women in their group were more closed mouthed than a priest in confessional.

"What is going on with Tess?" he asked bluntly, fixing the hybrid with a questioning look as he leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees and keeping his voice low given the sensitive nature of what was about to be discussed. At a glance, there was no one there but the two of them, but the past year has taught him that you can't always believe what you see and he wasn't going to take any chances.

"How the hell should I know?" Michael snorted, regarding him strangely, his lips curling up in a slight smirk as he kicked his feet up on to the opposite bench and settled deeper into the trunk behind him, his amusement bleeding to a faint hint of concern as he noted Alex's exasperated expression.

"Last I checked you were her brother," Alex bit out drolly, his brow winging as he met the taller man's now interested gaze dead on, looking away when Michael squirmed at the reminder of the his and Tess's relationship, which he had just discovered no more than a month ago. Michael and Tess were still uneasy with one another, neither knowing how to deal with a family member to worry about after years of being on their own. But if he did know one thing about Michael, he did take that bond seriously and if he found out something or someone was hurting Tess physically, he'd move Heaven and Earth to take care of the threat.

"So, it's not like we have slumber parties and share our deepest secrets," Michael muttered, looking out over the school yard, a light brooding expression on his face, studiously avoiding Alex's probing gaze before he sighed and turned back to the dark-haired man and conceded grudgingly. "Fine, what about Tess?"

"Have you noticed anything odd with the way she's acting?" Alex probed, trying to see if Michael had picked up on anything weird going on, or if Tess was hiding this from her so-called family as well, which is what he suspected from the way she reacted earlier. Not that he blamed her since they had been the first to shut her out, but he was hoping that maybe she may have at least confided in Michael.

"Whitman, we're aliens, everything about us is odd," the tall alien groused impatiently, getting tired of this game of twenty questions they were playing and wanting him to get to the point so that he could either reassure him that everything was fine, or so he could track down his errant sister and fix the problem, Either way, the subtle probing was irritating him and he had enough worries on his mind. "Want to be a bit more specific?"

"She's having dreams, bad ones from what I can tell. She's not eating, she's falling asleep in class, having trouble concentrating and seems exhausted all the time," Alex stated flatly, flicking the other boy a worried moue as he scrubbed his hand over his hair anxiously and shook his head, not even sure how to explain what he saw. "But the weirdest bit? Some…thing or phantom or I don't know what…bruised and scratched her in her sleep, but nothing was there. I saw it happen! And there was nothing tangible causing those marks."

"Out of no where? You mean like the Freddy movies?" Michael asked, back stiffening as he sat up straight for the first time, pulling his legs off the bench and draping them on either side as he leaned forward, pinning Alex with an intent, sharp glance. Swiping a hand over his face, he looked away when Alex nodded hesitantly and then dropping his head into his hand, cursed under his breath. "Shit.

"Why do I get the feeling you know exactly what I'm talking about?" Alex eyed him suspiciously, his own gaze sharp as a hawk at the hybrid's unusual reaction to his words and he cocked a brow as Michael stared off at the school with an annoyed glance, his lips pressing together, the keen look in his eyes showing a mind frantically at work.

"I might," Michael grated, his voice low and dangerous, the air around him nearly crackling with tension as he hastily stood and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, his hot, irritated gaze fixated on the school for a long moment before he turned back to Alex. Pulling his leg free from the picnic table, he swiped his book off of it and growled low in his throat before he continued quietly. "But I need to check some things out and get back to you."

"Fair enough," Alex agreed as he too stood, sinking his hands in his pocket and startling when the final bell rang, noting the end of classes and he turned his head to the loud chortles, slamming of locker and babbling voices as students spilled out of the school quickly as possible, happy that it was Friday. Scanning the crowd, he smirked when sure enough, Michael's eyes zeroed in a brunette head as she made her way out of the building, coming to a standstill just under the eaves, fidgeting as she searched the crowd.

"Let me know if you find out or observe anything more," Michael requested grimly, his eyes only for Liz as she turned and saw the two of them standing there, his and her eyes clashing as she squirmed under the intensity of his gaze. Michael flicked him a quick look, promising before he fixed a stern glare onto the pretty brunette and strode off towards the front of the school. "I'll try talking to Tess as well."

Watching his friend stalk off, he cocked an interested brow as the tall man loomed over the petite brunette, coming to a standstill with only inches to spare between them, forcing her to tip her head up as he leaned into her body, the air around them swirling thickly with unexpressed tension as he flicked a heated look over her slowly. Alex bit back a chuckle as Liz's throat convulsed when Michael dipped his head and spoke to her in a low tone, her body leaning into his unconsciously before Michael grabbed her hand and all but dragged her across the lawn toward the parking lot.

He and a certain brunette were definitely going to need to talk when this was all over.

Sitting back on the bench heavily, he dropped his head into his palms and rolled everything he'd learned over in his mind, a niggling dread chilling his blood as he recalled the phantom force hurting Tess in her sleep and suddenly Liz's equally punchy, haggard appearance coupled with Michael's reaction sickened him. Fear shot over his spine, helpless rage burning in his heart at the thought that whatever force was hurting Tess might also be hurting one of his best friends and he clenched his hands, the knuckles popping at the strain as he tried to rein in his emotions.

Looking across the yard, his eyes fell onto a stiff, angry Max clenching his own fists as he watched Liz and Michael walk off hand-in-hand, the tension vibrating around him so think, he was amazed anyone walking by could draw a breath. Narrowing his gaze, a cold, steely resolve flared through his body and he knew, although he didn't know where the certainty came from, but he knew the other boy was responsible.

He just had to prove it.

Keeping his gaze leveled on the other boy as he stalked towards the parking lot, maintaining a careful distance between himself and the couple currently climbing onto Michael's bike to head off for their shift at the Crashdown, he vowed that if Michael didn't fry the little psycho, he was going to beat the other boy senseless himself. He wasn't about to put up with anyone terrorizing his girls, alien king or not. He was sure Kyle would be more than happy to hold him down; perhaps they'd even take turns, after all, the other boy was due given the self-centered king stole Liz away from him, and Alex had much preferred how often Liz laughed and smiled with the jock over the alien king.

Intent on perusal, he missed the quiet approach of one of the girls in question, her soft rain and citrus scent washing over him first, heating his blood and making his body tighten, before he actually caught sight of her. Tipping his head, he raised his brows as Tess stopped before him quietly, her lip caught between her teeth, a finger tugging nervously on one of the curls framing her face and he pursed his lips slightly, wondering what she wanted considering she had made her opinion of him and his kind all too apparent earlier.

"Hey," she greeted uncertainly, her voice faint and wavering as she shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze and she looked down at her feet, her fingers toying with the edge her text book anxiously before she tipped worried blue irises back onto him, making his heart pang at the vulnerable girl that shined out of their depths.

Gaze softening, he took a deep breath and sat up, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck as he tried to put his hurt feeling aside, knowing it must have been hard for her to approach him after their disagreement earlier. He was such a sucker for his girls and couldn't stay mad for long. Nodding his head, he licked his lips and met her gaze soberly, offering up his own cautious greeting, "Hey."

"I just wanted to say…I'm sorry, for earlier," she said hesitantly, averting her gaze slightly as she said the words, clearly at a loss and discomfited, and it both pleased him that she made the gesture, yet made his heart ache that she even felt the need to put up those barriers between them. "I've never really been good at accepting help from others as it's always just been Nasedo and myself, and well…Nasedo was never really there when it counted and always seemed to expect something when he did."

Alex nodded quietly, remaining silent as she haltingly explained her actions, a fresh wave of irritation washing through his body, but this time for the girl's so-called protector for his callous and cold attitude towards her. Furrowing his brow, he opened his mouth to respond, but closed it when she continued hastily. "I shouldn't have said what I did. It was uncalled for given you were just trying to help and I didn't mean it. I do value you, all of you and I'm just really scared by what is happening. Please forgive me?"

"Apology accepted," he replied quietly as he stood, staring at the girl cautiously, willing to let things be but still a little hesitant after her earlier actions. Sliding a finger under her chin as she continued to stare down at her shoes, he tipped her chin, fixing her with a small smile as he offered. "Just remember that I'm hear if you need to talk. I mean that; any time, day or night, fell free to call me."

Taking a deep breath as she smiled weakly, he cocked his head and smiled at her, gesturing to his car, his heart thrumming wildly as her eyes began to sparkle once more and her grin deepened, nodding shyly as he asked. "Need a ride home?"


	3. Trial by Fire

**Trial By Fire**

_**Icy fingers feel so real  
Touching my soul  
He's me, I know  
**_

_She gasped, spinning around in a slow circle, trying to figure out what had jolted her out of her pleasant dreams, a finger of dread sliding over her spine, its cold, taunting panic reverberating through her soul as a mocking laugh filled her room. Licking her lips nervously, she swung her head around as she heard a creak behind her, her heart hammering painfully against her chest, the acid rush of fear chilling her blood and making her quake internally as she scanned the somehow menacing shadows before her._

_Drawing a shallow breath, she crept over to the door cautiously, her nerves zinging like an electric current, each message running down her system screaming, 'Run, run, run, run,' to the rhythm of her pounding heart as cold, numb fingers closed around the knob and she steeled herself for whatever might lie behind the innocuous looking wood. Closing her eyes for a moment to gather her strength, she grit her teeth and eyes flying open, swung the door open hastily, her shoulders sagging slightly as the portal remained tauntingly empty, a fact that did nothing to assure her safety._

_Inhaling sharply, her body twitched when the faint hint of smoke stung her nose, its acrid heat coating her lungs as she began to choke and cough, panting shallowly to prevent further distress as she tried to regain her breath, a trill of anxiety skittering throughout her body as she heard a faint crackle in the distance. Covering her mouth with one hand, her eyes began to sting and water as the smoke filled them, hazing her vision further as she scanned the pitch black hall, her heart nearly thumping through her chest when she saw a faint glow ahead._

_Removing her sweater, she balled it up and covered her nose and mouth and blinking back the tears covering her eyes, she walked cautiously down the hall, all the while a small alarm resounding in her head that her actions were foolish and that she should go back into the room and climb out the window. Slipping down the stairs hesitantly, she followed the glow, her blood pulsing through her veins hotly, skin prickling with heat as she headed toward the kitchen, brow furrowing as she tried to remember whether she'd turned anything on that night._

_Sliding her hand over the wall, it's warm, rough texture blistered her fingers with one touch and she yanked her hand back, yelping in pain as she rounded the corner to the kitchen, her eyes widening, terror rippling through her being as flames shot out of the stove to the ceiling and danced menacingly along the counters. Whipping around, she hurried toward the pantry where they kept the fire extinguisher, ripping the door open forcefully in her panic and hurried into the room, shuddering when the door banged against the wall and flew back, slamming shut with a shuddering crack, debris from the ceiling falling in front of it in a shower of flames and sparks._

_Horror crawled through her veins as wood and debris blocked the door, trapping her in the tiny room, flames slowly licking at the slatted, wooden door and she stumbled back when the door erupted in a wall of flame, acrid smoke filling her lungs and making her choke as she looked around for the extinguisher, a sob bubbling up her throat as she recalled that she had moved it recently. Heart pounding wildly, terror shot over her nerves like a wild fire as flames began to lick through the ceiling, forcing her back further into the tiny room, blinded by tears and thick black smoke._

_Crying out, she screamed as the roof caved, scalding wood and debris raining over her head and hitting her bare shoulders, the hot material scorching her skin, searing pain ripping over her nerves as her skin burned and bubbled, her hands blistering as she brushed at the clinging plaster and insulation in vain, her head swimming dizzily as her vision grayed and she slid to the floor..._

Shooting up in bed, a blood-curdling scream ripping through her throat, Tess sobbed and choked, smoke still coating her burning lungs and she clutched at her throat, crying out in agony as searing pain shot over her shoulders, neck and hands. Wincing, she leaned over and snapped on her bedside light, her eyes widening in horror as she stared at the blisters littering her hand, the red, tender skin glaring at her accusingly. Oh God, what the hell was happening to her?

Inhaling sharply, she choked back a sob and flung the covers back, her skin a searing burn as she noticed, red, flaming skin stretching over her arms and legs, the flesh tight, burning and tingling as if she had stayed out in the sun for too long. Hurrying into her bathroom, she stood before the mirror, her eyes bloodshot and red-rimmed, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes and sweat-soaked hair was matted to her forehead and temples, hanging in limp, stringy waves over her shoulders.

Stepping closer to the mirror, her eyes widened in horrified terror, her lips blanching white as she stared at the angry, red, bubbled skin on her shoulders, her hand instinctively flying up to touch the marks and she flinched as pain radiated over raw nerves as her fingers brushed over the injured skin. Shaking her head in disbelief, she swayed dizzily, a cold dread filling her body, chasing through veins like ice water and a hysterical laugh spilled over her lips as she stared at the damage done to her body.

He was trying to kill her.

Alarm flashed through her body, heating her already scorched skin to a new level as she stumbled out of the bedroom and sank on to her sweat-dampened sheets, her hands pressed to sensitive thighs, head hanging limply over as she tried to push that insidious thought aside as just her nerves. But what other explanation was there? If he had only wanted to frighten her, he wouldn't have bothered with using his powers to bring actual physical injuries and this last dream…thank God he hadn't grown full strength yet, or she'd have inhaled a lot more smoke than she did and it would have killed her in her sleep.

Quaking with fear, she stared at her clock, nibbling on her bottom lip and running a hand over her hair, wincing as the seared flesh ached and stung even though it was starting to heal, and the fact that it was taking so long for her body's natural defenses to kick in terrified her. Something had to be done before she lost it, before something serious happened, before he got so strong that she wouldn't be able to break his hold on her dream plane and the next time she might not make it out alive.

Fidgeting, her stomach curled with dread as Max's taunting face from the previous day's dream flashed through her mind, his sly, malicious smile sending a trickle of panic skittering through her nervous system and her hand flew to her phone, punching in a number without a thought, the other line ringing in her ear as she pressed it to her head. Trembling, she pulled it from her ear and stared at it, her finger lifting to the end button as it rang an additional two times and she nearly pressed it, cursing her weakness when a tinny, scratchy rasp spilled over the line, his voice husky from sleep.

"Hello?" Alex rasped, his voice deeper than usual due to the lack of usage and he looked over towards his clock blurrily, the numbers flashing back at him, and groaned as he realized he forgot to reset it after he'd unplugged it that morning. Sitting up, his brow crinkled as he heard a soft, nervous breath on the other end, a feminine whimper shooting fear down his spine, clearing the haze of sleep from his brain as he focused on his watch as the girl on the other end cleared her throat. Eleven o' clock, late, but not that late.

"Alex?" a soft, familiar voice trembled, uncertainty and fear ringing through her tone, her breath picking up in tempo as she brought the phone closer to her and he could hear her choke back what he could only assume was a sob, his fear and unease growing by leaps and bounds as she hovered on the line, but had yet to speak again. Running his hand through his hair, he whipped his blanket off, clambering off the couch where he'd fallen asleep after trying to watch a movie and put this very girl out of his troubled mind.

"Tess?" a low controlled masculine voice questioned hesitantly, his voice cracking slightly from disuse and she bit her lip, dismay filling her as she realized she must have woken him up despite the time. Running a hand through tangled waves, she hedged, the silence drawing out between them as her need for help and the need to keep up appearances warred inside her heart, her body tensing as every muscle locked down in anxiety, prompting another gentle prodding from the boy on the other line. "Tess, is that you?"

"I…I…" she stammered, her throat closing around the words she wanted to say as Max's taunting words reverberated through her head, making her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. Why was she even bothering with trying to reach out, none of them wanted her here in the first place, which they had made glaringly apparent every time she'd tried to make an overture. It wasn't her fault that they had a life prior to this one that messed up their plans; she'd only been trying to find her family again, to feel the love and acceptance from them that she never had from her 'protector.'

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, his voice laced with anxiety, making something inside her warm, and she fought back Max's hateful words as well as her own insecurities as she took a shaky breath, closing her eyes for a moment before she squared her shoulders, smiling as the boy on the other side peppered her with questions. Max was obviously wrong in one case, someone did care what was going on and wanted to help if he could. "Did something happen? Are you all right? Did you get hurt?"

"I can't do this anymore," she whispered softly, both to herself and the boy hovering on the other side of the phone, her resolve firming, tired of letting Max get the upper hand in this sick, twisted little game he was playing. If he wanted a game, a fight, she'd give him something to reckon with; she wasn't going to play his victim anymore. It was time she took a more active role and stopped jumping at shadows. "I won't do this anymore."

"Hold on, I'll be right there," he replied hastily, his heart thudding in his chest as he heard an out of character lost, forlorn tone, wondering what had happened to bring the typically standoffish and self-assured girl to this level. Quickly throwing on the first clothes he saw, some sweats and a long-sleeved shirt, he grabbed his wallet, jacket and keys and headed out the door, popping in to let his parents know that a friend needed some help and he'd be out late.

~...~

"You going to tell me this was just another dream?" Alex rasped tightly, his blue eyes sparking angrily as he stared at the bright red burns littering the tiny blond's shoulders and chest, his lips pursing when her eyes darted away and he scrubbed his hand over his hair agitatedly, as he dug through the first aid kit looking for the burn cream.

The silence drew out between them as he carefully swiped a medicated pad over her shoulders, amazed to see that swelling and pink had diminished by half in just the few minutes he had been there, once again awed by the aliens' abilities. At the same time, it made him frown and his face darkened as he wondered how many times she had nonchalantly dealt with the affects, hiding the injuries skillfully until they fully healed.

"It was…" Tess began, hesitating when he stopped his ministrations to fix her with an irritated look and swallowed sharply, gathering her thoughts as she nodded softly, years of conditioning hard to overcome, even when she wanted to come clean about everything. Taking a deep breath, she met his concerned gaze and licked her lips, shaking her head in negation as she whispered. "No, no, it wasn't just a dream."

"What is going on?" he asked, his eyes clouding with confusion as he stared at her burnt shoulders, his mind whirling a mile a minute as he tried to connect all the dots to this mystery, dabbing burn cream onto the blistered skin as he pulled his thoughts together. "Tess, I saw you. You were sleeping and those injuries came out of nowhere. I watched that bruise, one that I assume you healed, spread over your cheek but nothing I could see touched you, followed by…_something_ slicing into your arms. And now second degree burns when I can't see any reason for them? You want to explain to me how this is possible?"

Tess looked away, a shiver skidding over her spine, wrapping her arms around herself to stave off the inner chill, and her eyes filled with tears, growing dark and haunted as she recalled being trapped in the pantry, flaming debris cascading over her shoulders. Trembling lightly, she turned back to Alex, her lip clenched between her teeth as she fixed glassy eyes on him, her heart lurching when he stroked a thumb over her cheek.

"I've been having nightmares," she responded, looking down at her hands self-consciously, her shoulders hunching defensively as she tried to figure out how to tell him what was happening without coming off like a crazy person. Hell, she didn't even know what to believe anymore. Looking up she looked him in the eye and plunged on. "Very vivid nightmares, the kind where you wake up screaming and wanting to run because they feel so real, it takes you a couple of minutes to realize they were only dreams."

"Right, you said that," he nodded, grabbing a stool and pulling it front of the girl before sinking down and hunching over do he was at her eye level, taking her hands in his as she looked away shyly, obviously unused to the attention and he sighed, looking at his hands thoughtfully. Licking his lips, he looked up soberly, shaking his head slightly as he continued in soft, assuring voice. "But that doesn't explain what's happening here."

"I don't know if I can fully explain it," she hedged, looking away uncomfortably when he frowned at her words and she bit her lip, clasping her hands tightly in her lap, her mind fogged and whirling over everything that had been happening, a slight edge of panic welling inside as the night caught up with her and she began to feel overwhelmed.

"Try me," he said dryly, cocking a brow at her, reaching up and lightly grasping her jaw and turning her gaze back to his, keeping his eyes calm and collected so she didn't feel threatened by telling him anything. Brow furrowing when he saw the confusion stirring in her eyes, he backtracked and tried another tactic, hoping that an easier question would help break down the barrier she'd obviously constructed to deal with the situation. "Okay first, when did they start occurring?"

"They have been happening off and on since the end of the summer," she responded, relief coursing over her as she could easily answer that question without thought. Shrugging slightly, she looked back at her hands as she began talking, the words flowing easily over her lips as she went into a bit of a trance as she recalled the beginning of the dreams. "It started with one or two dreams, but they have been escalating in number and intensity, and are permeated with an air of desperation in the last week."

"And this?" he queried gently, lightly tracing a finger over her rapidly healing shoulders, his lips quirking when she shivered slightly under his touch, the pink in her cheeks blooming becomingly, her breath hitching the slightest as their eyes met for a long, intense moment before they skittered away, a slight smile curving her lips.

"They've only started manifesting in real life for the past three or four dreams," she continued, her eyes growing serious and troubled as she mulled the latest occurrences over in her head. "The others, while terrifying, never carried over into real life injuries. The first two affects faded immediately, the last two haven't healed right away, which tells me he's getting stronger."

"Who is?" Alex asked, his eyes sharpening as he mulled her words over, his gut screaming that Max had something to this, but he held his peace, unwilling to have her get nervous and clam up now that he had broken through the cool, collected reserve that always seemed to surround her. As much as he wanted confirmation of his thoughts, he also didn't want to make her feel that he was badgering her.

"There is only one person that I know who has that ability," she hedged, missing his slightly disappointed expression when she backed off from confessing fully, her eyes dancing around the house. As much as she wanted to tell him her suspicions, she also didn't want to make any accusations until she was completely sure that Max was behind this and not some other alien. This information, either way, could cause a huge rift in the group if not handled right. "But, it couldn't be him..."

"You sure about that?" Alex asked quietly, not wanting push her, but also wanting her to consider the consequences if she didn't say anything. Based on the two incidents he'd witnessed as well as her comments, the episodes were getting harsher, much more violent and more dangerous as time went on. If her assailant could inflict second-degree burns from a minute long dream, what else could he do in a dream that she couldn't control? "You willing to bet your life on it?"

Tess swallowed thickly at his observation, a shudder wracking her body as she rubbed at her still pink shoulder absently, her eyes clouding over as she considered his words. Biting her lip, she met his worried gaze silently and shook her head softly, fear snaking over her spine at the thought that next time she might not be so lucky. Alex watched her quietly, rubbing his hand over his jaw and knowing he was out of his depth, made a decision, "Let's go."

"Wait, what…" she trailed off, startled eyes flying to his face as he slapped his hands on his thighs and stood, holding out his hand to her. Putting her hand in his hesitantly, she frowned, her brow pinching in confusion as he pulled her to her feel and then lightly draped his jacket over her shoulders. "Where are we going?"

"To get some answers," he replied bluntly, grabbing his keys as he led her over to the door, her hand tucked firmly into his as he waited for her to slide on her slippers, sighing when she balked and shook her head mulishly, trembling with fear as she crossed her arms over her chest as panic sluiced through her veins, blurting out in her panic. "No, no, Alex I don't want to see Max…."

"I knew it," he exclaimed, his lips compressing as Tess winced at her unintentional confession and shook his head in disgust at the other boys actions before her continued. "I knew he was somehow part of this. But no, we won't confront him yet. We're going to Michael's. When we talked about this yesterday, he seemed to know something and I'm going to get answers if I have to sit outside his door all night."

"You told him?" she choked, eyes bugging as she stared at him incredulously, her cheeks turning ashen as she looked away, staring at some unknown point on the wall, her stomach swirling sickly, worried what her brother might do to the other boy if he knew what happened. Michael and her hadn't gotten that close, but he took his duty seriously and as her brother, he wouldn't put up with someone abusing her.

"You wouldn't talk and you can't tell me that this is normal," Alex stated quietly, tossing her a pointed look before tucking her hand in his and opening the door, not about to let her squirm out of this, lofting as they headed out the door. "I figured that it was either paranormal or alien, so I went with what I know is possible since I'm not sure yet that ghosts exist but I know aliens do. I went to the only alien I trust right now."

~...~

Alex climbed up the stairs to Michael's apartment, cloaked in silence as Tess reluctantly trailed after him, doggedly heading to the one alien that was sure to give him answers and help him find a way to resolve the matter, still quietly fuming that Tess refused to admit that it was Max behind the dreams. Sighing, he pressed his hand to his eyes as he came up to the door, pausing when he heard heated voices spilling out of the open window, his brow furrowing when he recognized them as belonging to Michael and Liz.

Moving to the window, he looked at Tess, meeting her equally puzzled gaze before they both peered into the window, wondering why Liz would be over at Michael's so late even with their developing friendship. Quirking his brow, he watched with interest as Michael paced back and forth, the air fairly crackling around him as Liz stood off to the side with a frown, her arms crossed over her chest defensively as she stared off into space.

"Why didn't you tell me he was hurting you?" Michael hissed, halting his agitated movements and crowding the petite brunette, his hands resting on his hips as he loomed over her in an obvious attempt to intimidate her, only to be met with Liz's equally irritated glare as she pushed back, unwilling to back down to his tactics.

"Because it was just a dream," she hissed back at him, her lips compressing when he grunted his disbelief, his gaze flicking over her hotly as he seemed to study her carefully, checking her face over while she prodded him in the chest with a stiff finger, her shirt sleeve raising up and exposing the fresh scratches on her wrist unintentionally. Cringing, she dropped her hand, hastily covering the marks, fruitlessly hoping that he had missed. them. "They were harmless."

"Harmless?" Michael grated, his temper spiking as he fixed his eyes onto her injured wrist and grabbed it gently, shoving up her sleeve as he kept his eyes anchored with hers for a tense, drawn out moment before looking down and pointing to the bruise and scratches marring her skin. "This is not harmless. You said that he was dream walking you, scaring you, not that he had gotten physical."

"This is the first…" Liz trailed off, her mouth gaping and jumped when Michael stared at her angrily, his hands glowing slightly as he reached up to the seams at her shoulders, ripping the sleeves away without a word with a boost of his powers, tossing the useless material to the floor. Grabbing her arm, he ran his fingers over the tanned flesh, inspecting it carefully, repeating the gesture with the other after he was done as she demanded breathlessly. "What are you doing?"

"I'm checking for anything else you might not have told me about," he groused, his body coiling with tension, a slight grunt passing his lips as he saw that other than the one bruise and scratches her arms were blemish free and ignoring her fiery glare, he slid his hands over her back, delicately probing, watching her face for any reaction. Reaching for the hem of her shirt, he quickly shoved the thin material up to her breasts before she could stop him, his eyes flicking to the smooth, golden flesh to continue his inspection.

"Well gee, would you like to do a full strip search while you're at it, your highness?" she spat, slapping at his hands as he smoothed them over the soft, and thus far unblemished skin, her cheeks heating under his intense scrutiny and the gentle swipe of callused fingers, her breath catching as she looked up and met smoldering whiskey irises. Swallowing thickly as she realized how close his lips were to hers, her eyes latching to the full, pink flesh unconsciously.

"Don't tempt me, woman," Michael stated in a low, controlled voice, drawing her eyes back to his, both of their breaths catching this time at the heat shimmering in the depths of their equally frustrated gazes. Ripping his eyes away, Michael looked down, running a hand over her hip, grimacing when she visibly flinched and flicking his condemning gaze back to hers for a moment, he lowered the elastic band of her flannel pajama pants an inch, revealing a bright purple bruise, his lips compressing with displeasure as he asked tightly. "What is this?"

Alex sucked in a breath, losing the urge to laugh at their banter, the bright angry bruise, visible even this far away making him frown and clench his fists, his eyes icing over as he saw the mark proving that the petite blond at his side wasn't Max's only victim. Looking at the girl in question, his frown deepened when he took in her ashen, shocked appearance, her horrified gaze meeting his as the words between Liz and Michael sank in. Licking her lips nervously, she turned back to the other couple with a determined frown as the girl inside tried to brush off her injury.

"I…hit my hip on my dresser this morning," Liz hedged, her eyes darting away from Michael's, cheeks flushing as he continued to watch her steadily, scoffing derisively at that comment and gently gripping her jaw, he turned her head to face him, implacable caramel eyes making her squirm as they met hers and called her on her bullshit answer. They stared at each other for another long moment before he pulled away, his face going stony as he stared at her with admonishment and faint disappointment that she'd even try that tact with someone who knew better.

"Yeah right, sell it to someone who's buying, Liz," he rasped, shoving his hands in his pockets, standing at his full height but not retreating as he stared at her, his brow lofting as her gaze skittered away, her hands smoothing her shirt back down before she stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest. He watched her for a moment, shaking his head as he continued, his voice hard as steel. "You forget I know all the excuses people make for abuse."

"I did," she protested indignantly, her brow pinching with frustration and her teeth sinking into her lower lip, dropping her arms in agitation as she met his gaze fearlessly, inhaling sharply as he just stared at her in continued disbelief, rocking on the backs of his heels for a moment as she rushed on, trying to keep him from doing anything drastic. "I was tired and wasn't paying attention and hit my hip on the dresser."

"So why does it look so fresh?" he countered, still not convinced that it hadn't happened in her dreams. Even if the bruise had occurred this morning, the coloring would have dulled; this bruise was fresh. He had seen enough of them in his lifetime to know the difference, not to mention, Liz couldn't lie worth shit to the people that knew her well and knew what to look for; that happened tonight along with the bruise and scratches on her arm and he'd bet that it happened when she tried to escape Max's grip.

"I…Michael, I'm fine," Liz huffed, running her hand through her hair impatiently as she pushed away from the wall, brushing against Michael's chest, her skin flushing hotly as he flicked a simmering glance over her as she walked away, her lips and jaw set stubbornly. Michael grunted, his eyes heating further as he followed her with a slow, almost predatory pace, his hand snaking out and gripping her uninjured wrist lightly, hauling her back to him, his body tight, expression darkening their eyes met and clashed, smirking in challenge as if daring her to pull away.

"Bullshit, stop protecting him," he rasped quietly, cutting off her words impatiently, obviously getting tired of listening to her denial. Pressing his lips into a thin line, he dropped her hand, but stepped into her body until a scant inch separated them, his breath rasping shallowly as he studied the defiant brunette thoughtfully, his words biting out in a low, dangerous growl. "I told you to tell me if the dreams changed in anyway. But no, I had to hear about it from Alex!"

"It was just this one time," she stated, her voice even despite the fiery alien male staring her down, her eyes anchored to his, her back stiffening when Michael's eyes narrowed further and he made a disbelieving noise in the back of his throat, his hands balling into fists, but the tension seeming to drain from his shoulders. Until Liz made the error of resting her injured wrist on his chest, drawing his eyes from hers and onto the raw flesh, re-igniting his cooling temper as he stared at the marks, his face stony and tight.

"Yeah, I've heard that before too," Michael stated evenly, flicking his gaze back to the tiny brunette, his eyes filling with a cold anger and he pulled away, stalking over to his counter and grabbing his keys off the counter, brushing past a confused Liz as he strode towards the door, tossing a grim, determined look over his shoulder.

"Wait, where are you going?" Liz gasped as she spun around, fear flashing briefly through her eyes, her brow furrowing as she observed his agitated movements, eyes widening as his intent became obvious as he reached the door and she scrambled after him, her fingers latching onto his wrist, halting him as his hand grabbed the knob.

"To end this," Michael grated heatedly, shaking off her hand impatiently and throwing open the door, startling when he met Tess and Alex's grim expressions, his gaze sharpening as they slid over the two and he recalled Alex's earlier explanation of what had happened to the petite blond. Stepping back to allow the light to spill through the door, he frowned when he took in the angry red skin at Tess's throat and swallowing thickly, he gently peeled Alex's jacket back off her shoulders, his eyes hardening further as he perused her raw, burned skin, his head snapping to the side when Liz gasped with distress.

Tess turned to the petite brunette, her eyes filling with a cold, resolved anger as she took in the brunette's equally haunted, exhausted gaze and brushed past her stewing brother, latching cold, trembling fingers around Liz's wrist. Staring at the fresh injuries dispassionately, she squared her shoulders, a wave of rage thrumming through her veins as she raised icy blue eyes and stated quietly. "He's gotten to you too."


End file.
